A Lot Like Love by Julie James

Julie James is one of my favorite discoveries in 2010. I got addicted to her writing because her stories have smart characters who gets under each other’s skin and as a result, there’s a lot of witty banter. I gobbled up her books one right after the other and was kind of sad that she didn’t have a bigger backlist, which is why A Lot Like Love is one of my most anticipated reads in 2011. I was so excited when I saw a copy available at Fully Booked Trinoma a day before the actual release date. We rarely get books on time here in the Philippines so I was thrilled to get a copy early.

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there — with a date supplied by the Bureau.

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment — one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more…

The heroines in Julie James’ other books – Taylor, Payton and Cameron – are all lawyers and I think it’s great that Jordan isn’t. Also, I just wanted to say that I love that Julie uses unisex names for her female characters. Jordan is an heiress but she’s financially independent from her computer geek billionaire dad. She runs her own wine store and it’s pretty obvious that she’s passionate about wine. I don’t know a lot about wine and I’m not a big wine drinker but this book made me want to try out the wine brands mentioned to see if they’re any good. I also loved that there’s a trip to Napa Valley in this book because I’ve been there! Nick is a guy’s guy FBI agent who would prefer not to explore the intricacies involved in drinking wine but he has no choice when he’s assigned to work undercover as Jordan’s date. It was easy to like both Jordan and Nick. Jordan is very down-to-earth and doesn’t act like a spoiled rich girl. Her priorities include her work, her family and her close friends. Nick also loves his family even if he doesn’t live in the same state as the rest of them. He’s serious about work and he loves that he’s good at it. He constantly argues with Jack Pallas from Something About You on who’s a better FBI agent between the two of them. I loved that Jack and Nick would trash talk whenever they could but they know they could count on each other when it comes to their work.

There’s always humor in all of Julie James’ novel and I think that’s one of the main reasons why I like them so much. In this one, Jordan exchanges quips not just with Nick, but also with her twin brother, Kyle, who’s in prison. I’m not going to say why Kyle is in prison but even his reason for being there is so funny. I also found it amusing that Nick doesn’t have a clue about anything wine-related and is horrified to discover that there’s pink wine. He thinks wine is for sissies and that Jordan likes fancy schmancy stuff. He even found Jordan’s Starbucks order weird. What’s wrong with a tall one-pump, sugar-free, vanilla soy latte? I’m partial to an iced soy green tea latte myself but I gave Jordan’s drink a try (except for the one-pump part) and it was pretty good. A Lot Like Love is a fun and light read with great characters and an engrossing plot that moves along nicely. It focuses on the characters and their relationships with people in their lives but there’s also a suspense subplot because of Nick’s work as a FBI agent and Jordan’s involvement in his case. If you’ve never read a Julie James novel and you enjoy reading chick lit or contemporary romance, please pick one up as soon as you can! They’re locally available at around P300 each. All of her novels are hilarious, easy to fall into and read like book equivalents of romantic comedy movies. Can’t wait for the next book, which is going to be about Kyle. If you’ve read any book similar to Julie James’ work, please let me know in the comments.

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15 thoughts on “A Lot Like Love by Julie James”

whoo hoo! so glad you loved this one as well. I only found julie james last year too and adored her ~ i gave away my books to a friend (so don’t have the copies to re-read) but my friend loved them too.

i’m really interested in the wine setting. i don’t know much about it but that;s part of what i love about reading ~ being immersed in a culture/environment that is not my usual.

Wow Nomes, that’s so nice of you! I mean giving away your copies to a friend. My copy of Something About You is actually with a friend right now and another friend is lined up to borrow it and A Lot Like Love.

I really liked all the wine talk in here. It made me more curious about wine in general and now I want to be a wine drinker too. I just don’t know how to go about it here. I hope your copy from the Book Depository arrives soon, I can’t wait to see what you think of this. 🙂

I seriously cannot wait to read this one. I think it would make a nice weekend read, don’t you? 😉 Super glad to hear you liked her latest – I’m intrigued that the heroine isn’t a lawyer and can’t wait to see where Ms. James takes that.

It’s a perfect weekend read, Michelle! It was very refreshing to read about a Julie James heroine who isn’t a lawyer and it made me curious who’s going to be her next heroine. 😛 Hope you get to read it this weekend because I’d love to know what you think of it.

Nic, I was thrilled to discover that Nomes loves Julie James’ books too. I can’t recommend this enough if you’re a fan of contemporary romance. I don’t read much in that genre actually but my favorite writers are Jennifer Crusie and Julie James. 😀

I’m so glad you like her books, Krissy! I recommend her to all my girlfriends because she’s my favorite contemporary romance author. 🙂 I’d love to read more books that are similar to Julie James’ writing. I hope you find a copy soon.

I’ve never been to Napa Valley before but I do want to go, cute picture! Thanks for sharing. Julie James is another one of my go to authors for fabulous contemporary romances. Of all the sub-genres of romance, my favorite of the bunch is contemporary and not a lot of people can write books like Julie James. She’s pretty great and I’m bummed that she doesn’t have a big backlist either. There hasn’t been a book written by her that I didn’t enjoy in one way or another and this book was no different. =) Great review!

Napa was a lot of fun and I’d want to visit it again when I go back to the States even though I’m not much of a wine drinker. I want to know more about it! Julie James is amazing, I love how her novels can make me laugh out loud. I always recommend her to friends who are looking for chick lit or contemporary romance reads. I’m really looking forward to her next book in 2012! 🙂

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Welcome to Chachic’s Book Nook! I’m a Filipino book blogger currently living in Manila, previously based in Singapore. My blog features all sorts of books that I read from various genres – my favorites are fantasy and romance. Click on About Me to learn more and check out my Favorite Books page for a list of books that I love. Thanks for dropping by!

Chachic /ˈtʃɑːtʃɪk/ is pronounced with hard “ch” sounds. The first syllable is pronounced like the dance cha-cha while the second syllable is like chick (baby chicken).

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